Midterm Evaluation (10)
During class.
Rosnante gulped down the water Zeke had brought him.
"Finish it all."
Gulp—
The entire bottle of chilled water went down Rosnante's throat.
"Th-thank you..."
Rosnante awkwardly expressed his gratitude to Zeke.
'What's gotten into him?'
And a moment later.
Rosnante's forehead creased deeply.
"...Are you telling me to... lose the duel on purpose...?"
"Yes."
Zeke nodded.
"Why should I do that?"
Zeke's words were hard for Rosnante to accept.
This was his chance to show his true skills and teach that damn First Prince a lesson!
"I don't think you'll lose based on skill alone."
"Yes."
"But, it won't be easy to win overwhelmingly. You haven't awakened any exceptional talents like the other students."
"...Th-that's!"
"Yes. Because you still can't handle mana."
"...40 magic stones..."
Rosnante hung his head dejectedly.
‘I'm trash— My life is over anyway— How can I get magic stones—’
He muttered with dead eyes and then spoke to Zeke with a tired face.
"So... that doesn't seem like a reason for me to lose. What's the reason?"
"To completely crush Ilios, we need what you have."
"What I have? I'm penniless now..."
"Status."
"Status?"
Rosnante tilted his head, not understanding what Zeke meant.
"And, if you participate in this, I'll let you use 20 of my magic stones out of the 40 you need."
"20 magic stones!!"
Rosnante's eyes widened.
Zeke already possessed far more than twenty magic stones, but he had no intention of using his own to engrave a filter for Rosnante.
Instead, he was offering a discount of 20 from the labor cost he was going to charge.
However, from Rosnante's perspective, this offer felt like an opportunity he couldn't refuse, no, shouldn't refuse.
'My reputation and fame are already at rock bottom anyway. I have nothing more to lose! But, if I can get magic stones and use mana...!'
He didn't know what Zeke Clayman was planning.
But if he could screw over Ilios by losing and get 20 magic stones in the process, wouldn't that be an incredibly good deal?
"Here's another bottle. Drink more."
"Yes, sir!!!"
Rosnante gulped down the water Zeke handed him.
Gurgling—
His stomach was bloated with water.
"By the way, what's Yuri Gilbert doing now?"
Rosnante asked, wiping his mouth.
"She's undergoing training to enhance her five senses while blindfolded."
* * *
And now.
Rosnante didn't dodge the wooden sword of the Count's son, who charged at him as soon as the match started.
He just stared at the tip of the wooden sword.
Yes, he intended to lose from the beginning.
But...
'Slow.'
It was definitely slow.
His eyes were following the movement, but somehow his body wouldn't move as he wanted.
Whack—!
He got hit on the head with the wooden sword and collapsed.
Blood splattered from Rosnante's head.
Zeke, who was watching the duel with the principal, hardened his face and spoke to the principal.
"It's a fatal injury..."
"Wh-what happened? Why is the Second Prince just standing there?!"
"He said he wasn't feeling well today... I'm not sure either."
"Then you should have stopped him from participating!"
"He's the only male student in our class, how could I stop him from participating? This... We need to call the Imperial Physician."
"The Imperial Physician!?"
Zeke nodded seriously.
"Yes. I heard they come when the princes are seriously injured..."
"But... Is it necessary to call the Imperial Physician? When you had a duel with Rosnante last time..."
"At that time, I controlled my strength so that there were no injuries. But..."
Zeke looked down at the training ground.
Rosnante was lying on the ground, bleeding from his head. And his opponent in front of him was also shaking his eyes in bewilderment.
"I understand... Let's call the Imperial Physician."
The principal finally nodded. Even in his eyes, leaving Rosnante's condition as it was wasn't a good choice.
"Then, the duel..."
"Let's continue the duel. We can't let this be seen as an incident among the nobles. Let's just say that our side lost in a duel between students."
"...Alright. I understand."
***
"Victory for Jipos Crate of the Crate Count family!"
The first match ended too easily.
When the Second Prince was carried away, the nobles murmured.
"What?"
"...Why did he just stand there?"
"Is he really that stupid...?"
"I heard that... after the previous duel, he couldn't move in front of a sword because of the mental trauma he suffered... I guess it was true."
"Previous duel?"
"I heard he challenged an instructor at Ramielli Academy to a duel and was completely defeated..."
"Ha... The Second Prince is completely finished now."
The people were buzzing, talking about the Second Prince's bleak future.
However, Ilios's furrowed brows showed no sign of relaxing.
"Knight Captain."
"Yes."
"What did you think?"
"Somehow... It seemed like he was having trouble moving his body..."
Then that means Yuri drank the water with the drug.
'But, it shouldn't have been that noticeable...? If he's injured to that extent... the Imperial Physician, a mage, will be dispatched.'
A sense of unease crept up on him.
'No, but they won't find that potion.'
He had conducted several experiments so far, and even had the Imperial Physician personally check it.
And so far, no one had discovered the existence of the potion.
Ilios shook his head, thinking it was an unnecessary worry.
"Anyway, it's a shame. I thought that if the Second Prince, with his remarkably developed lower body, had fought properly, he would have shown a good performance... I guess the memory of his previous defeat was indeed significant."
The Imperial Knight Captain clicked his tongue.
"What if... a noble lady received the same training as Rosnante and trained her lower body?"
"Is that possible...?"
"Let's say it is. First of all..."
"...Well, fundamentally, there's a difference in muscle mass between men and women. In other words, even if they undergo the same training, the effect will be drastically different. And while I mentioned the importance of lower body training... that's only for those with experience in swordsmanship."
Ilios organized his thoughts based on the Knight Captain's words.
'...According to the information Yuri brought, among the noble ladies, the only one who has experience with swords is... Selena. But, I heard Selena didn't come today. Then is Yuri going to participate...?'
Yes, if Yuri stepped up, they could easily secure one win.
Then, his slightly uneasy heart calmed down.
And the one who came out was a girl with brown hair and gray eyes.
The commoner whom Ilios had muttered was beautiful when he first saw her.
'Elise?'
* * *
Zeke actually wanted to exclude Soi Spoon from the participants, except for one.
The first reason was that it didn't seem like a good choice to expose Soi, the female protagonist, in front of so many nobles.
Moreover, Soi's hair had grown quite long.
Originally, she had kept her hair short and boyish because long hair got in the way of baking bread, but recently she hadn't been baking and hadn't had time to cut her hair, so she had left it to grow.
As a result, her beauty, which had been somewhat hidden, began to bloom fully.
"Who is she?"
"I hear she's a commoner."
"Oh, quite... This is... precious."
Even now, he could hear the nobles clicking their tongues as Soi appeared.
But fortunately, no one seemed to recall her appearance from the Eustia banquet.
Just a 'commoner' who was a somewhat beautiful ornament.
Her shabby clothes and status obscured their memories.
And the second reason Zeke was worried.
It was too dangerous to reveal her skills now.
With her control still imperfect and holding a real sword,
if Soi's destructive instincts were left unchecked, not to mention the safety of her opponent, a massacre could occur.
So Zeke didn't give Soi any special medicine this time.
'Well, it's not really a problem.'
Zeke waited for Soi's performance with a relaxed mind.
* * *
Thump
Thump
Soi felt a deep sense of discomfort as she stepped in front of the people.
The lust contained in the gazes directed at her was too vivid.
It was as if they were looking at her not as a person, but as an object to be evaluated.
The sword in her hand flashed its blue blade.
'Hoo, calm down.'
The instructor said her skills were still too unstable to be shown to the outside world.
He gave her a very specific example, and after hearing that, the thought of using that skill completely disappeared.
— Soi Spoon. Let me tell you what happens when you unleash your power. First of all, your opponent will definitely die. Since what you're holding is a real sword, they'll be torn apart miserably. And you, not satisfied with that, will start attacking the nobles. Of course, I can stop you, but the fact that you're trying to attack will be clearly conveyed to everyone. Then what happens? You'll have a bounty on your head, and you'll have to live a life on the run from the Imperial Army with your family. Do you want that?
Soi shook her head vigorously.
— Then should I just go out there and surrender...?
— There's no need to go that far.
— Th-then...?
— Just consciously use what you've been unconsciously using so far. Make all the men bow their heads before you. The joy of manipulation. Doesn't it sound exciting?
— Manipulation?
Soi stepped forward, recalling Zeke's words.
Her opponent was a huge man, much taller than Soi. She had to tilt her head back to see his face.
"Ha... Damn it. This is why I didn't want to do this..."
The man shook his head and muttered.
"Whether it's a real sword or a wooden sword, can a woman beat a man? Haa. Really... What was Instructor Dios thinking...?"
He grumbled reluctantly.
"Don't take it too personally, commoner. I didn't want to have this dishonorable duel either."
"..."
Soi's eyes narrowed.
She was getting angry at being treated like nothing.
How hard we've trained!
Under Zeke Clayman, the instructor who turned into a demon as soon as training started, how much hardship they had endured.
In her case, it was like a needle that had been wrongly threaded, forced to start, but the time spent training was just as intense.
It wasn't just her who was angered by having all that hellish time denied, but also her other friends.
'Of course, Rosnante lost pathetically... but that's Rosnante.'
Even among her friends, Rosnante was always treated with a hint of pity.
Soi glared at the man and opened her mouth.
"I'm definitely a bit small..."
"Huh?"
"But my density is different, you know...?"
Soi tightened her grip on the hilt of the sword.
Ding—
The bell signaling the start of the duel rang.
Soi threw her sword.
Gasp!
The opponent, who hadn't expected her to throw the sword right away, was startled and stepped back.
And in that moment,
Soi quickly dashed towards him.
Her kick landed.
Right between his legs.
Crack—!
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